Name and letter-drop plate



(No Model.)

W. GRAHAM.

NAME AND LETTEE DE01? PLATE. No. 401,700. Patented Apr. 16, 1889.

Tl'gnl.

WIN

VILLAM GRAHAM, OF CLEVELAND, OIllO.

NAIVIE AND LETTER-DROP PLATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 401,700, dated. April 16, 1889. Application filed June 30, 1888. Serial No. 278,6671 (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, XN/'ILLIAM GRAHAM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Doors; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use t-he same.

My invention relates to improvements in doors; and it consists in a door having' a slot or opening out therein, an adjustable nameplate over the slot, and a receptacle attached to the inside of the door, all as hereinafter described, and particularly pointed out in the cla-im.

This invention is designed to be used more especially in private residences, although it is also employed to some extent by businesshouses, who have the name of the firm inscribed on the name-plate.

l-litherto people generally have objected to having a letter-box connected with their front doors, for the reason that the necessary provision therefor could not be made without in fact disfrgnring the door, as well as making an opening which was liable to admit cold air and to be objectionable on other accounts. Frequently in such case the slot was faced with metal and a swinging` plate the size of the slot arranged within the facing; but this still revealed the slot and gave the door the appearance of an oiiice or a door of some public place, which at best was deemed to be of such bad taste that very few persons who had regard for the appearance of privacy would consent to the evident disfiguration. This fact, coupled with the increasing urgency from the Post-Office Department that the people should meet the demands of our freedelivery system with safe and convenient boxes where the mail could be deposited without delay, suggested the need which is believed to be supplied by this invention.

It will be observed that hitherto if a letterbox were used on a private door the nameplate was of course a separate and distinct article, having no purpose or function ,but that of a name-plate pure and simple, and both necessarily occupied different parts of the door. By my invention this plate is utilized to perform double service-viz., that of a nameplate and a cover for the mail-opening-so that the new arrangement has decided economy as well as utility and convenience. The name-plate, therefore, is made not only to serve its original purpose, but it also helps to overcome thehitherto insuperable objection to having the door cut and exposed for the introduction of mail. The eut is made as before; but .it is so artistically concealed that the objection thereto is wholly overcome. It will be seen that when the plate is down in its normal position it has the appearance of an ordinary name-plate and nothing more, and as such it may be embellished and nished in any manner that style or taste may dictate, yet, when raised, it discloses the opening for the mail, and thus is utilized to promote delivery and becomes an auxiliary of the mail-box without losing its distinctive value as a name-plate. It is this novel and evidently useful combination of elements that forms my invention.

In the accompanying' drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of a door with the nameplate in its normal position, and Fig. 2 a similar View with the name-plate raised. Fig. is an enlarged front view of the plate within its keepers, as seen in full lines, and of the plate alone in dotted lines. Fig. t is a back view of one end of the plate and its keeper in full lines and of the plate alone in dotted lines. Fig. 5 is a detail of one of the keepers, both of which are alike. Fig. 6 is an edge view of a section of the door, showing the slot therein and the box inside.

A represents a door, with a slet, a, cut therein for the delivery of mail, newspapers, and other small articles into the house without need of waiting to have the dooriopened for that purpose. This slot or opening is made where the naine-plate usually is attached, and on the inside of the .door is a box or receptacle, B, to receive articles delivered through the slot.

C is a name-plate of the usual size and outline, secured adjustably over the slot on the outside of the door. In the construction here shown the plate is provided with beveled side edge, c, terminating near the top of the sides with stops c', corresponding' in size and outline to the form of the keepers at the side, so

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that when the plate is down the sides will have the appearance of being continuous and unbroken.

D represents the keepers for the plate. These keepers are duplicates of each other, and have dovetail grooves (Z, terminating in shoulders (Z, which correspond to the recesses c2 at the bottom of the side edges, c, of the naine-plate, (see Fig. 4,) so that when the name-plate is down the shoulder formed by the recess c2 will rest on shoulder (Z, and the parts will be matched and even at the joints. The combined keeper and guide D is further formed with a cut-away portion, (Z2, along its inner edge, forming shoulders at its ends, along which the projection c3 on the back of the plate is adapted to slide within the limits of the cut (Z2, whereby, when all the parts are united and fastened to the door, the nameplate will be prevented from rising above a certain point and from being drawn entirely out. The method of fastening the keepers is by screws through the countersunk holes (Z3 on the inner and concealed portion, (Z4, ofthe keepers. In putting the parts together, fasten one of the keepers first. Then introduce the naine-plate, with the otherkeeper, in position, and raise the plate while the screws to the latter keeper are introduced. This done, the plate will be in position and cannot be removed without removing the concealed screws thus as effectually as possible vsecuring the plate from being taken off by persons maliciously or mischievously inclined.

It should have been stated that the inner surfaces of the keepers and the plate are flush with each other and rest I'lat against the door, so that when the plate is down the slot will be absolutely closed against dust or cold air. A knob, e, may be fixed on the door-plate to raise and lower it.

Having thus described my invention,'what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

A door provided with an opening for the introduction of mail, a name-plate, C, having beveled edges c, stops c', limiting the downward movement of the plate, recesses c2, matching with shoulders in the keepers, and projections cS on the back of the plate to limit upward movement, in combination with keepers at the ends of the plates C, having dovetail grooves d, shoulders CZ', tlat portion (Z4, with cutaway portion (Z2 and screw-holes (Z3,

all adapted to parts of the name-plate, sub- 55 stantially as set forth.

WILLIAM GRAHAM. Witnesses:

I-I. C. FIsHER, I. L. CoREY. 

